We are regularly treated with outrageous comments from the Premier and his Ministers relating to independence, international business sector, expats, and race.
Perhaps those comments have a logic in the twisted political sphere of Bermuda, but they clash with common thinking in most of the world.
We Bermudians are so used to the bullshit that we just [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Bermuda Politics'
“Bermuda Waning”
December 4th, 2008 · Comments Off
Tags: Bermuda Politics
Mockery of Public Consultation
December 4th, 2008 · Comments Off
Most lawyers in Bermuda keep their mouths shut on legislative issues - they’re too busy making money - even when proposed laws are blatantly inadequate.
Trevor Moniz (with his UBP hat on) is criticising the way that an amendment is being ramrodded through Parliament. The change would allow bankrupt lawyers to continue practicing their trade, with [...]
Tags: Accountability · Bermuda Politics · Transparency
Plain Talk
December 3rd, 2008 · Comments Off
Mike Winfield summed up Bermuda’s situation clearly - particularly the political roadblock caused by racial alienation - at a Bermuda Race Relations Initiative meeting last night. I encourage you to read it.
“For generations we have been fighting each other, hurling abuse at each other, always seeking to put the other down, to score points. Any [...]
Tags: Bermuda Politics
Shameless Hucksters
December 3rd, 2008 · Comments Off
They say that incumbent political candidates have many advantages, leveraging their visibility and larger resources to support their campaign.
For example, many observers noted with wonder how Middle Road was rush paved in the run up to the last election seemingly from edge to edge of the Premier’s constituency.
The PLP has taken it a step further [...]
Tags: Bermuda Politics · Tourism
Turning Our Backs on Europe?
December 2nd, 2008 · Comments Off
There was a big meeting in Cayman last week between members of the Overseas Countries & Territories (OCT) and the European Union. Who knows if Bermuda attended or not? It seems rare for “someone” to miss an opportunity in the limelight.
One of the topics for discussion was a green paper by the European Community, published [...]
Tags: Bermuda Politics
FT Says Buckle Up
December 1st, 2008 · Comments Off
The FT has a balanced article on the threats faced by the offshores including Bermuda.
“The political climate on the issue of tax havens has changed dramatically over the past three months,” says Jeffrey Owens of the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. As the official who has driven the international crackdown [...]
Tags: Bermuda Politics · Business
Hiding from Good Governance?
December 1st, 2008 · Comments Off
Dr. Frown (that was a typo but I’ll keep it, it fits) started ranting in Parliament again the other day. It seems that in his world just about anything is a cause to go independent.
He’s throwing a hissy about an inquiry into banking regulations? Even Finance Minister Cox thinks its routine stuff. The Brits have [...]
Tags: Accountability · Bermuda Politics · Transparency
Dr. Brown on the Tightrope
December 1st, 2008 · 1 Comment
This is a long post so please bear with me: it’s important. As you well know, the heat is on amongst many countries to clamp down on offshore financial centres. The biggest threat to Bermuda is coming from the US, where powerful business interests are lobbying for punitive action against Bermuda’s insurers. The offshores are [...]
Tags: Bermuda Politics · Independence
Funny Money
November 28th, 2008 · Comments Off
Predictably, Bermuda’s attempt to flip the bird to the Queen on our new banknotes has flown awry.
“To provide a sense of national pride” the new notes brightly feature local flora and fauna … except the bird that is a centrepiece of many of the notes is not the orange-billed Bermuda Longtail. According to Bermudian audobon [...]
Tags: Bermuda Politics
Shooting the Messenger
November 27th, 2008 · Comments Off
There is much talk in local corporate boardrooms about the arrogance of the Bermuda Government, its inexplicable hostility towards the international business community, and the disintegration of Bermuda’s once-envied public/private partnerships.
The divide was clearly shown in the Senate yesterday, when a UBP Senator raised a quote from the CEO of major Bermuda insurer at a [...]
Tags: Bermuda Politics · Business